Keep Me In Your Fading Thoughts
by SempiternalFanGurl
Summary: A wave of uneasiness had spread throughout Kanagawa and Tokyo, but only Yukimura Seiichi and Fuji Shusuke had sensed it before the storm arrived. Apocalyptic AU. Alpha Pair, Perfect Pair, Sweet Pair, Platinum Pair, Golden Pair OshiAto and others. Full list inside. Camp NaNoWriMo. Slow updates
1. Prologue

**Keep Me In Your Fading Thoughts**

 **Just a small detail before you read. The current ships in this are as follows:**

 **Sanayuki.**

 **Tezufuji.**

 **Oisheiji.**

 **Momoryo.**

 **Inukai.**

 ** **Silver pair.****

 **Sweet pair.**

 **Niou x Yagyuu.**

 **Tachibana x Chitose.**

 **More will come later.**

Prologue

It was a perfect day for the Seigaku Regulars. The weather was cool, a light breeze hung in the air and very few clouds floated above, drifting and floating through the sea above the heads of the many tennis players. It had been a nice day all day and to a certain prodigy, it had felt like a warning and he just had a small feeling in his gut that something would happen. It could have been nothing though; and Shusuke was quick to brush it off, but the feeling had lodged itself deep inside of him, becoming dormant in his mind while he walked off into the locker room.

It had been time to finish for the day, it was an early summer's day so the sun had not shown signs of decreasing into the horizon line. Momo and Echizen had already left, taking Momo's bike and making their way to their favourite burger restaurant. They had left Momo's bike outside and walked inside, Momo striding in first with Ryoma following closely behind with a small smirk plastered gently on his face, it was Momo's turn to pay today after all.

They had ordered the usual, Momo having at least six burgers and Echizen sticking with just two, he wasn't as hungry as Momo today and decided to only make a small dent in his wallet, surprising himself slightly at his caring implicit gesture, even if Momo was too dense to realise he was trying to be nice.

"Hey Echizen, don't you think that Fuji-senpai was acting a little weird today. He wasn't acting like himself." Suddenly hearing Momo's voice, Ryoma had to quickly remember how the genius had acted during practice. He had to admit though, Momo was right about something for once and he definitely didn't smile like he normally did today. It looked as though he had something heavy in his mind, weighing him down, maybe it was nothing. Then again, this was Fuji, when was he ever wrong about a sinking feeling?

"He could have been, but maybe it was your imagination senpai. You never notice when something is wrong so maybe you just want to seem perceptive." Ryoma stated with a smirk and a playful expression towards his sempai. Of course Momo looked very livid with that comment but decided to keep quiet, knowing the younger boy would only say something even more insulting.

"If you've finished eating, we can go and play in the street courts for a while." Ryoma told the purple eyed boy before abruptly getting up and walking outside to where Momo's bike sat waiting patiently for its owner. Said owner frowned, it was not like Ryoma to just walk out, maybe he did wonder if there was something wrong with Fuji. He could have been fighting with Buchou, however that seemed unlikely. Those two were rather close and Momo knew deep down, like every other Regular, knew that those two held strong feelings for each other and wouldn't just have some silly argument like he and Kaidou. It was just up to them to realise said feelings. With a sigh the Seigaku Regular stood up, and followed in Echizen's footsteps out of the fast food restaurant, tightening his hold on his tennis bag.

Although tennis practice was over, a lone figure practiced against a wall with a single ball. Oblivious and believing that everyone had gone home for the day. However not every other member had gone home, Fuji watched as Tezuka ran back and forth to hit the ball against the wall. He had kept his eye on his Buchou for quite some time and Fuji knew he was feeling what Eiji felt for Oishi. From the way his heart raced when Tezuka looked at him with a small smile, the way he wished that Tezuka could win every tennis match and never wanted to see him defeated, the way he would always feel the most genuine smiles befall on his face when he spoke with him. Tezuka Kunimitsu was someone he always wanted to be with and the only person who knew that was his best friend, Eiji Kikumaru.

The senior suddenly felt an urge to stand outside of the shadows and walk over to him. Without thinking, his muscles reacted and he was walking a slow pace to stand closer to him so Tezuka could sense his presence.

Tezuka caught the tennis ball with ease when it came back to him and turned around, he stood facing Fuji who had his ever-present smile on his face. The smile that Tezuka thought was very endearing, however never mentioned this to anyone, not even Oishi.

"I thought you would be at home by now?" The captain asked with his stoic expression still in place.

"No, I stayed behind for a while to get some extra work for me and Kikumaru since he wasn't here today." Tezuka seemed to accept this answer. The real reason was that he felt the nagging feeling in his heart again, telling him to be cautious and to keep everyone safe; he had immediately thought of the Buchou as he had come to hate not being in his presence. He wouldn't ever say to any of the other that he preferred their captain and would make sure he was ok first, after all he was one to look out for everyone.

It was a silly though really, no one was really in any danger and if they were in any sort of trouble, then that could easily be sorted out. His lack of sleep recently was what he blamed this feeling on.

"Hey Tezuka." Fuji started.

"Hm?"

"Do you wanna play a match?" Fuji was still in his tennis clothes and Tezuka obviously was. He watched the face of the man he loved change into a slight smile and he felt his heart float again.

"Sure." Tezuka was a man of few words but Fuji never minded, it was a though he could always tell if Tezuka was happy, and that was all that mattered to the young genius.

They walked to the nearest tennis court and Fuji took his bag off and dug into it to find one of his rackets. He stood on one side and for old habits, both men shook hands as if it were the Nationals again and they were on opposite sides.

They had both started playing seriously, neither wanted to lose and although Fuji knew that there was a greater chance that Tezuka would win, he would not go down easily.

There was no way to fully explain their relationship with each other, they both appreciated each other's presence, especially when Momo and Kaidou were constantly bickering with each other. Fuji felt secure even if he only snuck a glance at the captain when Kikumaru was off with his doubles partner. No one would have known Fuji had felt slightly insecure, but he never intended it to be a known fact.

Tezuka activated his Tezuka Zone, bringing Fuji's ball back to him instead of to the corner where it was previously aiming for. Fuji knew what was coming next and in a rally that consisted with the prodigy running to the sides, Tezuka finally landed a Zero Shiki Drop Shot that hit the floor and ceased to bounce; instead it rolled back to the net. Fuji stood with a smile on his delicate features, it was a good game, even if he did lose to Tezuka for a second time. It had felt good to play with him. Then again he never felt bored playing against the Buchou.

Marui had left practice as soon as it had finished, he didn't wait to get a shower as there were so many people, he wondered if everyone would actually get hot water. Practice was a bore today, he had been so out of focus that he felt like slapping himself and making himself run at least 200 laps so that Buchou was satisfied and so he was satisfied with himself. It didn't feel right though, somehow it felt as though no one had noticed him act the way he did, Jackal sure didn't and they were doubles partners. Yukimura probably did though, which confused the redhead greatly as he would have ordered him to run laps, which would set Sanada off on a lecture about slacking off. It wasn't his fault though, he tried to stay on focus. However it was extremely difficult when you had a certain 3rd year known as Sleeping Beauty nagging your mind all day.

Marui didn't even know he thought about the kid that much, he was adorable though. With his unruly orange hair that urged Marui to run his hand through it and his brown eyes that always had a sparkle in them, he also shared his love for sweet foods. A love that his teammates had thought he should cut down, albeit the oldest Regular had told them it helped him with his slight lack of stamina.

The serve and volley player walked down the usual narrow path he took to the park that was a to his house. However stepping into the open park, Marui found his eyes had settled upon the boy who had taken up 90% of his conscious thinking. The boy was laying on a bench, most likely asleep as usual. Marui secretly hoped he was getting enough sleep, even though he was called Sleeping Beauty, he would never sleep if he got the chance to play a match or hang out with the redhead.

The boy who was just shy of him by 4cm stood in front of him with his usual smile. Marui felt a slight flutter inside, knowing that he had caused that very smile to appear on the Hyotei boys face.

"What are you doing here Marui-kun?" He asked as if everything the Rikkai member did left him in awe.

"I'm going home." He replied shortly, blowing a bubble with his bubble gum like he always did. He didn't show it either but he wished that Jirou would ask him to play a tennis match or hang out. He always knew how to make Marui feel content wherever he was.

"Oh, did you wanna hang out. Maybe go to that new sweet shop that had recently opened up?" Marui inwardly grinned, he didn't miss how Jirou looked down ever so slightly that most people would think he didn't move at all, or the way he had a slight colour appearing on his cheeks, almost matching Marui's hair colour. Marui smiled at the younger boy, eyes full of gleam; just like when they had that friendly match a long time ago.

"Sure, do you know where it is though?" One look at the orange haired boy and Marui could instantly tell he had no idea where it was "it's good that I do, come on let's go." Marui turned and walked away, knowing Jirou would catch up and take up his step.

Yukimura Seiichi felt all inhabitants leave as he sat in the locker room of Rikkai tennis club, his jacket hung over his shoulders as it did every time he played a match. His head was tilted down slightly as he thought about today's practice. The Freshmen were a mess, the seniors were slacking off, the only ones who looked like they were training were the Regulars; and even then it was only he and Sanada who had given it their 100% focus and attention.

It didn't surprise him in any way to see the vice captain completely focused, when did he ever take a break willingly? Marui was off in wonderland, no doubt thinking of that Jirou kid from Hyotei, Jackal's eyes would wander throughout every game he played, no doubt thinking of what he should get his girlfriend for her birthday. Yanagi was at home as he couldn't attend today, Niou was messing around and impersonating as the captain to mess with the Freshmen, Yagyuu had decided that today he would leave his doubles partner to his own devices and simply watch him from the benches, but the thing that had unsettled his mind the most was that even Kirihara looked out of it. The young demon kid was never 'out of it' when it came to a match, no he would pursue his dream until his dying breath to beat Yukimura, Sanada and Yanagi. He had no time to not pay attention.

Thinking back, the Child of God wondered if he was giving it his 100% attention, normally he wouldn't deal with the crap that happened today, and would simply order everyone to do 100 laps; or however many it took before they fell to the ground with jelly legs. The bluenette smiled slightly, maybe he should have been running laps around the tennis courts as well. Though he brushed the simple thought off and blamed his uneasy thoughts on his headache we had been dealing with all day. Kirihara was partly to blame for that. Although he had been not focusing correctly, he was shouting at Niou who was constantly tricking him when he saw him.

Yukimura stood up, still feeling his jacket on his shoulder blades, he took it off and folded it into his bag, he would walk home in his tennis attire, he thought as he didn't want to deal with the cold water that turned on immediately after 6pm. It was already 6:20 and he couldn't get home until 9 since his family were out and though he was a senior and the captain of the tennis team, his mother never wanted him to stay home alone. Probably because of my illness he thought with a slight grumble, it wasn't that he hated his mother's worry, it was that he didn't need it. He was fine.

After locking the doors and making his way outside, with the sun directly in his peripheral vision, Yukimura felt not completely alone, looking around he saw no one. But that hadn't settled his mind at all, and the blue haired Buchou wondered if he should get to sleep earlier today to get rid of whatever he was feeling completely. Walking down the familiar path he would always take to school, he was conscious of the space next to him as Sanada was not with him. The stoic fukubuchou had gone home early and didn't wait for his captain. Yukimura had felt dejected, however not enough to spend his time thinking about it.

Now that he thought more about Sanada, the bluenette had wondered if something was on his mind also. The stoic expression on his face seemed to hide anything, but Yukimura knew Sanada like the back of his hand. He would never show it if something was wrong. He couldn't sense anything troubling Sanada but it had been Yanagi who was with him for most of practice while he was watching matches against the seniors.

He sighed again, a wave of uneasiness floated in the air, and it didn't feel like it was going away anytime soon.

 **So that's the prologue, but don't fret there's more! Please tell me what you think and I have a question, who should be with Kirihara? An or Yanagi? I'm leaning more towards An but I want to hear what you guys think. :)**

 **ヴィック**


	2. Chapter 1

Niou felt bored, and that was a first. Then again, with Yagyuu, there was a first for everything. For example he had started actually completing his homework since he met Yagyuu. This time however, the young Gentleman had dragged him to a small obscure library in the Kanagawa district; all because the silver haired boy was in the passing area. Niou had secretly hoped that there was a deeper reason for him being asked to accompany Yagyuu while he was doing his 'precious' English homework.

Niou had been trying to find Kirihara so he could torment the young Demon, however he had no luck there and he heard that he was practicing. Where, the trickster didn't know. He was falling asleep with the endless drone of Yagyuu's voice and if he kept this up, Niou could rival even Jirou of Hyotei.

"Are you even listening?"

Niou smiled sheepishly at Yagyuu's cold stare. He will die with that expression, Niou thought with an inward grin.

"You'll never get the correct grades to get to High School like this." Yagyuu continued on, as if he actually cared about what grades I got, Niou thought, the small grin on his face fading away. The trickster shrugged nonchalantly to Yagyuu, his grades were nowhere as bad as Kirihara, albeit we was no Yanagi or Sanada. Maybe Yagyuu had been pointing out what Yukimura Buchou was saying last week.

"If you don't get decent grades, Buchou won't let you onto the team." That was definitely what the captain had said to them all last week. Although he thought it was mostly aimed at the young Demon kid. Niou looked on towards Yagyuu. His face held no deep emotions and he had to wonder, did his doubles partner care all that much for him.

"Don't worry, I'm not that dumb. Don't sound too concerned, people may think you actually care". The silver haired boy simply returned, watching Yagyuu's facial expression turn into a frown. Yagyuu was in most of his classes and knew he paid attention at least half of the time. So why did he try when he knew Niou was getting satisfactory results?

Niou suddenly stood up, feeling the urge to move around after sitting down for an hour, he turned around and started walking away. He got a significant distance away and was almost at the entrance when the voice of the cool and calm Yanagi Renji abruptly halted his thoughts and movements.

"I didn't think I would find you here Niou."

Niou stared at Yanagi, an uncharacteristic blush rose to his face. The data tennis player smirked, knowing he had hit a nerve.

"I mean, he is over there I thought you would be with him." With that Renji walked off to the exit. Once Niou followed his movement, he realised Marui was outside with that kid from Hyotei… Jirou.

Niou regained his usual playful expression, he knew that there was something going on between both serve and volley players, even if they didn't see it completely themselves; which was most likely since both were oblivious to most things. Walking back to Yagyuu, he motioned for the boy to come with him and the Gentleman only followed when he saw that most of their team was outside.

"What are you guys doing here?" The silver haired boy asked, focusing his attention on the sweet loving redhead opposite him.

"Me and Jirou were going to the new sweet shop that had opened up around here." Marui smiled "wanna come with?"

Niou, Yanagi and Yagyuu made a face, they all knew just how much fatty foods that Marui could eat at once. Adding Jirou would mean the other members would have to deal with double the amount of sweets that could feed an entire army. Yagyuu spoke first.

"Well as much as that sounds fun, I have somewhere I need to be." He said, adjusting his glasses to sit on the bridge of his nose like they were supposed to. Niou shuddered internally at the glare he received from him. He was still angry about that? The silver haired boy remembered when he had leaned on his glasses earlier that day in school, bending the frame out of place so he had to lift them up every few minutes. He said he was sorry, followed by an offhanded 'puri' so maybe he thought he didn't mean it? Didn't he always take two pairs to school with him anyway? Obviously not.

"Are you walking through town, me and Jirou were now going there." Marui replied easily, blowing another bubble with his bubblegum and walking off ahead; Jirou followed close behind like a lost puppy. Niou saw a familiar smile return to Yanagi and wondered if the Master was planning anything. Yangi soon followed, having nothing better to do and Niou looked at Yagyuu, as if he was going to gain his permission to go and make sure that Yagyuu also came with them. However he knew he would, he had to get his glasses fixed.

So the five of them set off in a line, taking up most of the path. Despite this, not many people were in town and in fact, they had passed no one on their journey so far.

"It kinda seems deserted. I wonder why." Jirou commented, letting his free thoughts run away from him. Marui silently agreed with the strawberry blonde haired had never been this quiet in the centre of town before, especially since it was only 4pm on a Friday. The streets would usually be bustling with parents who would be dragging their young children from school, trying to buy all the shopping they may need while the children would always try to wangle a gift out of it. Young couples who would find something they liked and gave their significant other the puppy eyes look, almost 100% ensuring they would buy it for them, tennis players of all ages would flock the windows of the sport shops, groups of students would walk to one of the many bars and restaurants that filled the streets and eat dinner together. Today not a single person was out, it was like a ghost town and the five boys all felt unnerved by this as they continued walking.

Immediately after, the boys had seen Momo, Echizen, Ootori and Shishido from Seigaku and Hyotei fly around a corner and come racing in front of them. All of them had a face of horror and in disarray as they sprinted and stopped in front of the Rikkai boys and Jirou.

"Hey Ootori, Shishido." Jirou greeted with a friendly smile, disregarding their expressions.

What stood in front of the boys caused a face of utter shock to register on Marui, Jirou, Niou, Yagyuu and a slight disquieting sense emitted from Yanagi. Ootori, Momo, Ryoma and Shishido didn't replicate the expressions the other had held, and instead looked slightly more fierce and were already thinking of a way to escape from the wretched beasts in front of them.

Their faces, grotesque and grey in nature hung with a dreamy expression, eyes pale, corpse-like and anaemic. Paper, being more sturdy than the limbs of this creature that was set in their line of sights, would have held its shape better as the creature tried to carry its arm up but failed and instantly flopped down to its side. Yanagi was the first to speak, and for once he sounded at a complete loss.

"What the fuck is that?"

* * *

Yukimura followed after Sanada, staying a close distance to ensure those… things didn't catch up to them. What were they? For once the Child of God felt a chill run up his spine and lodge an insane amount of fear in his mind. He was left with a sinking feeling of what could happen if they had managed to get to them; he decided he didn't want to know and simply followed the cool, calm and collected Sanada. The taller teen had grasped his hand and gripped tightly to Yukimura's smooth milky skin. Blood rushed to the bluenettes cheeks as a result, however his mind shifted to the problem they were currently in.

"Where are we going?" He called out to the boy in front. Sanada was silent for a few seconds and Yukimura had to wonder if he had been heard. He was proved wrong when Sanada spoke in a soft and steady voice, a voice that was filled with everything the captain behind him should have been.

"Wherever is safe." He simply replied before turning a corner and dragging him down a darker and small alleyway. In truth Yukimura would have preferred a definite answer; one that illustrated perfectly where they would be safe and how long they would have to stay there for, anyone would want that. But what Sanada had given him that day was enough. The taller boy had known where he was and came to him instead of the rest of the team first. Deep down Yukimura knew that the vice captain would make sure he was okay, they had known each other for at least 6 years and. Even so he did not know he cared about him that much and even hugged him tightly when he saw the slightly shorter boy, mumbling an incoherent sentence under his breath. Simply being Sanada was enough for Yukimura and being a concern on his mind was enough for the bluenette.

He was brought back to reality when he felt Sanada abruptly stop and had to brace himself before he hit his stern back slightly. Peeking round he saw those grotesque creatures again, staring back at them with their translucent white eyes and expression void of emotion. Their mouths hung open, spilling a mix between a deep throaty moan and a sound of regurgitation Almost as if they were about to throw their innards onto their surroundings. Yukimura silently wished he could throw up on them, just to hide their disgusting features.

He felt Sanada's grip on his hand tighten as he turned around and realised with great disappointment, they had congregated behind them as well. Yukimura inwardly cursed and turned to face the wall, his eyes widening and a smile forming across his features when he saw a set of fire stairs.

"This way."

Sanada allowed Yukimura to guide him up the fire stairs, the monsters down below were slow and moved in a sluggish manner.

Making it to the top was easy enough for the two boys, being on the tennis club had its advantages. Despite that, the climb wasn't easy for Sanada mentally, he was constantly on edge, watching and checking to see if anything had resided in the apartments and could potentially harm Yukimura. The vice captain would never forgive himself if his captain was hurt.

Yukimura ran to the edge and gripped onto the wire fencing that encased them, and cursed when he saw how many had littered the streets. He looked at Sanada. The black haired teen looked calm, he examined the stairs they had come up with such intensity and barred the stairwell up so that those creatures wouldn't get to them. Yukimura wondered, how could the capped teen remain so calm in their current situation? They could die up here since they had no other way of getting down and yet, Sanada looked as if it was just another day, doing the same thing like any other. They would be playing tennis if it was just a normal day. Solemnly dropping to the floor in a very uncharacteristic way, Yukimura thoughts lied with the rest of the team. It was a stupid thought really, finding the time to worry about everybody else when they were in a difficult situation themselves. Hopefully Renji was in more favourable conditions, he would be the most reliable behind him and Sanada of course. Yukimura felt Sanada drop beside him.

"We should be safe." He intentionally left out the 'for now' at the end of that sentence and the bluenette was somewhat grateful for that; he wasn't prepared to be reminded of what could eventually happen. Without warning, Yukimura turned to face the taller boy and wrapped his arms around hm in a tight hug. For a few seconds Sanada felt rigid against him and Yukimura wondered if he should pull away. However just as he was about to, he elt a pair of strong arms encircle his waist and pull him closer in an even tighter felt safe; he felt secure in Sanada's embrace and wished for the moment to never end and the few minutes it had been going on for, felt like a heavenly captain finally broke the silence and spoke in a soft voice in Sanada's shoulder blade

"Thank you." He whispered, briefly wondering of Sanda had heard him, however he was left speechless when he received a reply from the taller teen.

"Always Seiichi." Sanada's tan arms gripped Yukimura tighter, pulling him closer and almost on his lap, smelling the familiar floral scent of his captains shampoo. If someone were to question Yukimura on their relationship, he would be at a loss of words. He would usually direct the comment back at the other person, like he did with Niou concerning Yagyuu, who would try to hide a growing blush and stalk away. Or telling them to mind their own business, like he did with Renji. Truth was, even he didn't know where they stood, Sanda was his closest friend and the captain had hidden ellings for the stoic teen for a long time, when going back, Yukimura didn't remember a time when he didn't have feelings for Sanada.

Cool droplets of tears fell from Yukimura's sapphire eyes and onto Sanda's shirt. He had rarely cried and the teen felt embarrassed in is time of weakness. He had wanted to be strong, like he always was and be the leader he was supposed to be for his on Sanada's shoulder was not what he thought he should have been doing.

Sanada brought the smaller boy into his lap, in all his life, Yukimura had cried in front of Sanada once, and that was when they had lost the Regionals and he was in hospital. Yukimura wanted to desperately blame his team, they had lost and he was so angry at the simple fact, however he could never be as angry at them as he was hat himself. He had been in hospital and he was the one who couldn't support them fully as he went into the operating theatre. Yukimura knew that he held his head high for the world, however he knew that Sanada knew him better than that. He had known the boy ever since he first smiled at him and made him blush those years ago. With his free hand, Sanada touched the flowing and free blue hair of the boy sitting on him and dragged it back and forth is a soothing manner. Yukimura relaxed into Sanada's touch and his slight shaking had ceased All that was left was their tight embrace.

"Anything for you Seiichi." Sanada had said again. It was the only words that had needed to be spoken; for actions spoke louder than words. And it was the simple actions that the black haired teen did, made Yukimura fall even more in love with him.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Marui exclaimed, running behind and following the Seigaku boys. Ootori and Shishido fell behind slightly, making sure they were all safe.

"Atobe had told us to find everyone. He knows a place that is safe." Renji watched as Jirou analysed that sentence, telling from his facial expression that he trusted his captain.

"Away from those things?" Marui asked again.

"He hopes so." Echien replied in a calm voice. There was a long silence as the nine boys sprinted away from the centre of town. Each were thinking what would happen to them if they were caught by those creatures that were behind them.

A thought flashed before Yanagi's eyes. Kirihara! No doubt he Devil Ace was training in his secret area that nearby, but what if he didn't know? Yangai knew where he was because he would often walk that way subconsciously, he thought before that it was because he had never been that way before. But now he knew that it was because the young tennis player had practiced there everyday and Yanagi was drawn to him. He felt the need to keep him safe and make sure he was okay. The 'Master' had no time to stop and think of the possible consequences and suddenly stopped.

"I know where Akaya will be, I'll go get him."

"But what if he isn't there?" Yagyuu's question stopped the data tennis player for a split second. However he didn't linger on it for any more time.

"I know he'll be there." He replied before sprinting in another direction, disregarding that he called Kirihara by his first name. He knew the Devil Ace would be there, why would he not be there today if he spends all his time there? Renji had found out the boy out practicing one night when he had gone on a long walk to clear his head. It was when Yukimura was in the hospital and Sanada spent most of his time there . It was one night when Sanada hd cut practice early, saying that he had to run errands for his family. Yanag knew it as false, he just wanted to see Yukimura one last time before the finals and he's operation and the third demon did not question it, and simply let him be with a knowing glance. Sanada would just ignore him anyway and they, calling him an idiot. Yanagi smiled at the thought of his two hopeless friends They were obviously in love with each other and ad been for a while, the team often joked that they were the parents of all of them; but both still fail to say anything. As much as it sounded cryptic, he only wished Sanada would take advantage of the situation they were in and tell Yukimura.

Yanagi saw the correct path he needed to take and turned the sharp corner, skidding slightly as he turned. He was about a couple of minutes away now and if he kept up at this pace, he would get to Akaya in one minute and 47 seconds. He would tell himself that Kirihara was okey, otherwise his spirit would diminish, like the last few embers of a candle, desperately trying to relight and burn brightly again with no wax to burn for the fuel. Negative thoughts would only hinder him.

As Yanagi turned the last corner, a body slammed into his and sent him and the mystery individual to the ground. The data tennis player fell onto his side. His right eye was open slightly, and he caught sight of seaweed-like black hair and a yellow and black jersey.

"Sempai?" Yanagi forced both eyes open at the familiar voice that he recognized as Kirihara's. Truth be told, Yanagi could have hugged him right then, however he refrained from doing so. Instead he simply stood up, looking down on Kirihara, who was sitting on the cement path.

"We need to get to Atobe's." He said, keeping his voice calm and steady, knowing that if he didn't, Kirihara would worry and he couldn't deal with that.

"Is it because of those?" He gestured to the pale bodies that had now congregated from where Kirihara had previously come from. Yanagi said nothing, feeling his stomach churn in disgust at the sight and instead, looked to the Devil Ace, as if confirming his question. His face hardened and Kirihara stood up, silently following Renji and easily keeping up with his fast pace.

"Have you seen the others?" The black haired teen asked.

"Marui, Niou and Yagyuu are with Echizen, Momo, Shishido, Jirou and Chotoro." Yanagi responded. "There is an 80% chance that Sanafa is with Yukimura and a 76% chance that the rest have seen Jackal." Renji knew that Kirihara wouldn't respond, he never doubted him up until now. "Atobe knows a safe place we can all go."

"What if we can't get there?" Yanagi didn't respond. He thought, thought of how different it would be without Kirihara, thought about a world without the young Devil Ace in it, and could only picture sadness. If they were going to go to Atobe's, they would both make it, alive and Yanagi would make sure of it.

"I'll make sure we get there alive." He responded before stealing Akaya's hand in his and turning a corner. _I'll keep you safe_.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Atobe raised his head to stare at the other people in front of him. The captain of Shitenhouji, Shiraishi stood in front of him with the rest of his team behind him. They were coming today to have a practice match with them. Like that was going to happen now Atobe thought grimly. He briefly wondered how his team were getting on, Kabaji and Oshitari were at his house with him, however everyone else was out rounding up other people. Atobe cold only guess that this was due to some experiment that must have gone horribly wrong, but if that were to happen, wouldn't the country have been informed in some way. Turning around, the grey haired millionaire walked away to his room and opened the door and shut it with such intensity, that it shook the dresser that stood on the opposite side of the room. Atobe didn't care though, he sat on his bed and thought, why did this happen? How could this happen? What could have caused this mess?

"You'll cause wrinkles if you keep looking like that." Atobe glanced up to see Oshitari Yuushi leaning against the wall next to the door that he must have opened and closed without his knowledge. He held his ever-present smirk on his face that Atobe wanted to either wipe off or continue watching him as he loved to see that smirk. "And we both know how you would hate that."

Atobe continued to frown at the blue haired boy now walking towards him and simply laid down on his bed, stretched his legs out and stared at the white ceiling. Oshitari soon came into his line of sight, still with his smirk, he leaned down and kissed Atobe on the lips. Atobe instinctively closed his eyes and ran one hand through Oshitari's hair. Atobe would never admit it aloud, but he loved it when it was just the two of them and none of the others were in the way to disturb them; even if the situation at hand calls for his attention. The king can be selfish sometimes right?

Both boys parted and Atobe stared into Yuushi's dark indigo eyes. His smirk had returned and Atobe had to wonder what he was thinking and what he going to say next.

"Is the princess in need of another kiss?" Atobe's frown returned and he had to urge himself not to do one of two things, shove the Oshitari cousin away from him, or bring him down for another kiss. "As well as that ugly frown, you look like you haven't slept for days. Did you get any sleep last night?"

The young captain did not want to admit that he only did get 2 hours of sleep last night to the taller boy, he also knew that the Hyoutei tensai knew that he didn't get much sleep because he could read him easily, no matter how much it annoyed him. Yuushi could tell the slightest changes in Atobe and as much as that did annoy him, he secretly enjoyed the slight worry Oshitari would show. Even if Atobe would never admit that he was the best, he could still understand human error to some degree. Of course it was only minimal for him, but he knew his limits.

"So how many hours of sleep did you get last night." Yuushi finally asked.

"Does that really matter. Anyway the rain kept me awake so it was not like I could help it." That was not completely a lie since the fowl weather had been some of the trouble however it was not the whole truth. Atobe however, couldn't tell whether Oshitari believed him but he didn't linger and instead turned on his stomach, leaning on his arms, he looked at the pillows at the end of his bed. They all looked comfy enough to sleep on right now, albeit it was too bright and even shutting the curtains wouldn't contain the light that was spilling through the windows.

"That didn't answer my question." Atobe heard Yuushi reply softly with his back turned from Atobe. The richer boy simply sighed at Oshitari's response.

Atobe felt Oshitari's shadow move away and he faintly heard a zip being pulled before he felt a jacket thrown on top of him, covering his head and upper body. Atobe could smell Yuushi's familiar scent and recognised the jacket as his tennis jersey. The Hyotei captain could hear Yuushi laugh beside him and he felt a dip in the bed on his right side and felt the jacket that was laid on top of him lift slightly.

"Get some rest princess, I'll deal with everything else." Atobe frowned at the annoyingly endearing pet name, turned his head to the right and was overcome by another kiss from the blue haired tensai. Atobe separated from Yuushi slightly to see a genuine smile grace his features. Atobe could still feel the tensai's breath on his cheek.

"Somehow I feel that I shouldn't trust you."

Ohitari laughed again, filling Atobe's ears with a sound that was sweet and melodic.

"Don't worry princess. Everything will be in order and everyone will still be alive when you wake up. I'm sure Shiraishi can keep a leash on Kintarou for a few hours." Oshititari replied evenly and moved forward to kiss Atobe again, this time, gently on his nose. "Get some sleep, you need your beauty sleep." Oshitari then lifted his head and rose from the bed, leaving Atobe and walking to the door, opening and closing the door almost soundlessly. If someone asked Atobe why he dealt with Oshitari on a daily basis, he would inwardly sigh and pretend he didn't hear the question. Oshitari Yuushi was a handful, yet Atobe couldn't find it in himself to drop him, instead he felt like he had to hold tighter, as if he would drop him accidentally and never be able to get him back. Dropping him would be like dropping a point in a tennis match, for Atobe it would be unthinkable. Yuushi was special, and Atobe felt selfish for having him, but again, he was far too selfish to give him up.

* * *

Shiraishi watched Atobe's retreating form. Faintly behind him he could hear Kintarou laughing at something Zaizen had said and Hitoji and Konjiki talking. He could feel Kenya's gaze on his back but he didn't turn to look at him. However when he felt Kenya's presence next to him, he couldn't ignore him and turned to face his best friend. Kenya's expression matched Shiraishi's thinking and he had to bite back a comment. It was only him and Kenya that had known the true reason as to why the rest of Hyoutei were not here and why they were not going to be having their practice matches anytime soon. Atobe didn't look very happy when he left, and the slam that was most likely a door, didn't go unheard by the Shitenhouji captain either.

Kintarou jumped in front of Shiraishi and Kenya and grinned brightly.

"When are we going to play some tennis. Is Koshimae going to be here?" The red headed kid asked still keeping his cheeky grin and his arms in the air.

Shiraishi inwardly sighed at the young boy, wondering how he would let Kintarou know that they were not going to play tennis today and that Echizen was not going to be with them. He wished he could have Kintarou's innocence sometimes. He was always carefree and never worried about anything. Even when he was getting to the Nationals and got off of the bus before he got to Tokyo, he was never in distress and told Shiraishi that it was extra training since he ran the rest of the way. Instead he chose the easy way out.

"Not all of Hyotei are here yet and anyway, Echizen is not in Hyoutei." Kintarou frowned and stopped jumping, instead looking up at his captain with a sad face.

"So Koshimae won't be here?" Shiraishi was about to answer again but Kenya had beat him to it.

"Hey Kintarou let's see what Atobe has in this mansion." He pulled Kintarou off and turned his head to Shiraishi, giving him a small smile, Zaizen hot on his heels. Kintarou seemed to liven up again and laughed with Kenya and was jumping in his step again. Kenya's cousin, Oshitari Yuushi made his way down the hall, turning to look at Kenya before he continued towards Shiraishi, Atobe was not with him and the Bible tennis player had to wonder if there was a reason for that.

"What did you say to Kenya?" He asked the blue haired tensai that seemed to be the closest to Atobe out of his whole team.

"To keep Kintarou close. I don't think Atobe would like it if he finds out that he had been causing trouble." Shiraishi silently agreed, although the young boy was in his team, he could understand that he was liable to create mayhem wherever he went. And seeing an annoyed Atobe is not something he wanted to see. It was not above seeing an irate Yukimura, however it was up on the list on things he did not want to see in his life.

"Do they know?" Oshitari referred to the rest of his team and he stopped to look at them. They were still talking together and Shiraishi questioned just how long it would be before they asked where the rest of Hyotei actually were. They weren't stupid. He praised them for that. However they sometimes took some time for things to sink in properly.

"No but I guess they need to at some point."

Oshitari motioned for him to follow and walked away and Shiraishi followed, knowing that the rest of his team would follow. He could hear footsteps behind him which confirmed his initial thoughts.

"So, what is actually happening?" Shiraishi asked the blue haired tensai, who looked at him with an expression that screamed he didn't know.

"Not much is known however I'm sure everyone is familiar with classical zombie games, The Walking Dead. things like that?" Shiraishi nodded, feeling a particular memory with Kenya follow through his mind. They were playing The Walking Dead together and both had to hold in emotions when Lee died.

"The situation is being treated just like that. However no one knows how this has happened and that's what Atobe wants to find out."

"The Walking Dead? The tv series is way better, wouldn't you agree Hitoji?" Konjiki asked looking at his boyfriend.

"Absolutely, when we get back home we should definitely watch it again."

"What are you talking about? The Telltale game of The Walking Dead is better." Chitose piped in, looking at his two friends, jokingly disgusted.

Shiraishi felt eyes on him and turned to look at Oshitari and saw him giving him an apologetic frown. The Bible tennis player also frowned, he would have to tell his team at some point why they are not playing tennis and instead going to be doing next to nothing for the next day or two, and even though they were joking about now, they would at some point ask why they are here and not playing tennis.

Oshitari led the rest of the team to the dining room, the main attraction of the room being a long rectangular white table with windows lined on the left that were equidistant apart. The contents on the table seemed to dampen the atmosphere of the room, for the table was littered with any type of food and drink available. Canned drinks from various vending machines and every type of preserved food lined up neatly in order, and that didn't seem to be the end of it. Knowing Atobe he would have bought a whole superstore full of food and that would simply be pocket money, Shiraishi thought.

"Where did all this food come from? Money from the side of Atobe's couch?" Shiraishi looked up at the sound of Kenya's voice who stood with Kintarou in between him and Zaizen. Zaizen having his arm rested on Kintarou's shoulder. The younger boy held a bright grin on his face at all the food and made to pick some up, however Kenya stopped him.

"We didn't come here to eat Kintarou."

"But Kenya, I don't think Atobe can eat all of this food. And its all laid out like it us for us." That's because it is for us. Its for everyone and it needs to last. Shiraishi thought with a small frown gracing his features. Kintarou can be tiring to look after for a long time.

This made the younger tennis player frown but refrain from touching any of the food and Shiraishi saw Yuushi give his cousin a grateful smile, which was replaced after a small second with a frown.

"You all need to know the real reason you are all here." The blue haired tensai said, looking over to Shiraishi, who simply frowned and stood next to him, Kenya also making his way over to him. Shiraishi decided to speak.

"Do you know why we were speaking about The Walking Dead?" He asked his team, not really knowing how to say this.

"Not really but now we have something to do when we get back." Hitoji said looking at his boyfriend and winking. Shiraishi internally sighed for the umpteenth time that day. He just decided that being blunt was the best idea.

"Well there are zombies walking around right now." Shiraishi looked at everyone staring faces, and stared back. Kintarou was the first to break.

"Hehe good joke buchou, now where's Koshimae!" He shouted jumping around again. Chitose also spoke.

"Why didn't we see any on the way here then?"

"You were all asleep, me and Shiraishi were the only ones awake." Kenya replied rolling his eyes.

"Also they wouldn't be able to get into Atobe's mansion. He's made sure of that." Oshitari spoke. Kintarou sobered up.

"So we're gonna die?" Oshitari looked sympathetic.

"No, Atobe's mansion is well protected. But I won't lie, we could die."

The Shitenhouji captain looked at each and every team member. All of them looking mildly shocked with a mix of horror on their faces, even Kintarou looked a little lost. Chitose was the first to speak.

"Well shit."

* * *

"Was that Tezuka buchou Oishi?" The red haired Kikumaru asked as he looked on to his doubles partner and crush. Oishi turned to face him and gave him a small smile that Kikumaru had to hide an oncoming blush; and with the situation at hand he could not afford to blush like a childish schoolgirl.

"Yeah, we need to meet him and Fuji and the street courts, we'll all head to Atobe's together." The black haired boy said and the turned around, walking away slowly for Eiji to catch up. The redhead ran up to him and skipped ahead, hearing a deep chuckle behind him, Eiji let the blush spread across his face as he continued to skip along the path towards the street courts. All of a sudden, Kikumaru stopped and turned to Oishi.

"Wait," he said waiting for his partner to catch up. "Fuji is with him?"

"Yeah, I think Tezuka is pretty intent on keeping him safe." He heard Oishi reply before turning around again.

Kikumaru smiled and felt happy for his best friend. He had been crushing on Tezuka from day one since they met and it seemed like Tezuka may feel the same way.

"Do you think Tezuka likes Fuji?" Kikumaru asked Oishi, knowing that he would know more about Tezuka since they were best friends.

"I think so, however I don't think he knows it yet." Eiji frowned slightly. He knew that Fuji would wait if he had to because that was the type of person Syusuke was and Eiji would go crazy if he had to wait that long for Oishi to confess. He didn't even know if Oishi liked him, he was just going on what Fuji had told him.

"Eiji!" Kikumaru heard Oishi yell before he felt a warm calloused hand entertwine with his and drag him down a small alley, behind him he could hear the faint sound of feet being dragged and knew exactly what was behind them. The redhead looked at Oishi's determined face, and wondered if he was the same as Tezuka. Oishi's grip tightened on his as they turned another corner

"Burning!" Oishi stopped, trying to figure out where the sound came from.

"Was that Kawamura?" Eiji asked, however already knowing the answer. Turning the corner both individuals saw Kawamura using his racket and shooting tennis balls at the zombies behind a fence from a stairwell.

"Oishi, Kikumaru. Quickly this way." He said, unlocking a door to the right of him.

Oishi dragged Kikumaru up the stairs and through the door, taking the key from Kawamura and locking the door again.

"We need to contact Tezuka." Oishi stated urgently and walking off to phone Tezuka. Kikumaru looked around and followed Kawamura, who had motioned for him to follow into the open window on the fire exit stairs.

Kawamura had led the acrobatics player to a small one room flat with 10 other people inside. He recognised 1 person and that was Sakuno from his school. The other 7 he couldn't identify. The girl looked pretty shaken up, sitting in a corner with had knees up close to her chest, her eyes all red and puffy and she looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep. The redhead immediately walked over to her to try and console her but one look from the girl stopped him in his tracks.

"She's been through hell." Kawamura murmured to the redhead. He looked at Kawamura, curious. The blond sighed and Eiji could see he was torn up about what was going to be said.

"She watched Ryusake sensei, her own grandmother die and turn into one of them." Kikumaru's eyes widened as he looked at the girl again, and back at the window. If so many people already had died, how long would they live for?

* * *

Fuji stepped out of the changing rooms and saw Tezuka waiting for him. He was facing away from him and on the phone to somebody. The Seigaku tensai questioned who would phone him now of all times, unless it was his family. Tezuka turned and caught sight of Fuji.

"Oshitari just called, he said we need to Atobe's" Tezuka said, however Fuji could see he was not telling him everything he knew.

"Did he say why?"

"No." Somehow, Fuji knew that would be the answer, even though his eyes told a different story.

Both boys made their way out of Seigaku, Fuji just behind Tezuka.

"We'll meet with Oishi and Kikumaru on the way there." Fuji nodded at Tezuka and quickly caught up to his tennis captain.

"I didn't know you had Oshitari's phone number." Fuji remarked trying to make conversation and lighten the tension that had unknowingly settled between them.

"I don't. It was Atobe's phone."

"Ah." Truth be told, Fuji had Oshitari's number, he had Marui's number as well. Maybe it was a captain thing just as it a tensai or a doubles partner thing because he knew for sure that Eiji had Shishido and Ootori's number. The brown haired boy had to admit that being on a group chat with Marui proclaiming he is the Rikkai tensai and Oshitari talking about the newest love story was rather amusing.

They both continued walking in silence, and Fuji had to wonder why it was so deathly silent. Never had he not heard the singing of the birds, or the playful chatter of other children. It may have been later then when he normally left school, but he would always at least see someone else when he had to go our late at night for something his sister had forgotten when shopping for food or see people in house windows, sitting by the light of the TV or sitting around a dinner table. Never in his life has the streets of Tokyo been so, empty… deserted. It made a shiver run down the smaller boys spine. Tezuka seemed to have noticed the smaller boys unease and came slightly closer so their shoulders and hands brushed every so often. Fuji looked up towards the stoic boy who had his head turned away from him and felt a little at ease knowing that Tezuka was with him.

Fuji thought of Kikumaru and smiled, knowing his redhead best friend would be happy with being with his double partner, but he also had to wonder if he knew what Tezuka was keeping a secret. Because the Seigaku tensai knew that he was hiding something and it was driving him crazy inside. However he kept a straight face and continued walking.

"Where are we meeting Oishi and Kikumaru?"

"At the street courts, the ones near the tennis shop." Tezuka answered easily. Fuji nodded slightly. A familiar ringtone sounded off and Tezuka took his phone out of his pocket and answered it quickly. Fuji watched his face turn from his usual stoic expression, to a look of complete surprise, to a look of determination.

"OK." He replied and hung up. The Seigaku tensai was taken by surprise when Tezuka grabbed his hand, which felt small in his captains hand, and began dragging him down various streets.

Fuji started running with Tezuka, easily keeping up with him. He stayed silent, one look at Tezuka's face Fuji knew that he wouldn't get an answer from him.

To the right, Fuji heard an animalistic growl and had the sense to look. To his own horror, he turned and saw what he guessed was why they were running and why they were rushing to get to Atobe's.

Tezuka dragged the prodigy down another street. Passing by a few houses Fuji looked forward and realised that they were going to walk into the hornets nest. Tezuka stopped and cursed quietly.

"Guys." A voice came from Tezuka's right. Gakuto Mahaki stood behind a door that was almost closed. Tezuka dragged the brown haired boy once more up the stairs and into the doorway that was left open for them. Shutting the door behind him, Fuji walked with Tezuka who was still holding his hand to where Mahaki had gone. They arrived to a small living room and the redhead was standing with Hiyoshi. The curtains had been shut and the only source of light was a lamp that stood on the coffee table. Fuji's eyes wondered to Tezuka, who looked deep in thought.

"There's only two rooms so you two will have to share." Hiyoshi had said. Tezuka nodded and silently made his way upstairs, seeing one door closed, he opened it and walked in. Fuji looked towards the single bed and knew that Tezuka would give it up for him.

The stoic captain let go of his hand and Fuji felt his hand drain of any warmth it held. He watched at Tezuka walked out of the room, probably to find extra blankets. Fuji lied on the bed and imagined he was back at home, home where Yuuta would be pretending not to care and his sister who would be cooking dinner. However his brain could only imagine for a limited time for he knew that wouldn't happen again. As safe as he was at the minute, he worried for his siblings. His sister was too kind, and Yuuta was young. What if they had been hurt? Or worse? Fuji heard the door shut and lifted his head up to see Tezuka with a couple of spare pillows and a sleeping bag. He layed them on the floor and Fuji realised just how tired he felt. Feeling the pillow behind his head and the covers around him, he felt he was struggling to stay awake. But he had to make sure his siblings were okay.

"Get some sleep Fuji." Tezuka said to the brown haired boy who looked as if he was going to protest.

"Don't worry, I'll get a hold of your brother and sister." Fuji wasn't surprised his captain knew why he was torn. Still when Fuji was about to get up and protest, Tezuka had already taken his phone out of his bag and sat on the bed next to Fuji and pushed him down again. Fuji looked into his eyes, seeing deep concern.

"Get some sleep." Then the stoic boy left Fuji, shutting the door again behind him. The prodigy sighed, it was not like he could do anything else, but the sickening feeling he has made it hard to concentrate on sleep. Fuji closed his eyes, trying to remember Tezuka's concerned expression and tried to think of Eiji talking about Oishi, and tried to think of when he played tennis with his friends. If only that could happen again and it could go back to the way it was. If only.

* * *

 **Just got my GCSE results back and starting college soon, growing up is scary. I also had to upload this from my phone so sorry if there are any mistakes.**

 **For those of you who might be interested, I may bring out a Prince Of Tennis oneshot book or a Hamilton fanfic.**

 **ヴィック**


	4. Chapter 3

****Thank you for the reviews from Petapepy and Youki Monaco. I greatly appreciate it.****

 **Chapter 3**

I think we're safe now." Marui had said to no one in particular and flopped onto the floor, panting. The floor was cold in the small house they were able to break into, however the carpet felt soft and comfy under his arms and torso. He lifted one eyelid to see Momo and Echizen sprawled on the leather couch, Jackal collapsed on the matching seat adjacent to the couch, Shishido fretting over Ootori, Niou leaning on Yagyuu, breathing heavily. The last person Marui looked was Jirou, and saw just how beautiful the boy was. His hair had stuck slightly to his face with the small amount of sweat that had tried to cool his body, his bright eyes still sparkled even in the darkened room. The blond boy was leaning on a desk that had stood about 3 feet away from the door. The boy had been painfully quiet when they were all outside and Marui just wanted to keep him safe. Every close encounter, every step that almost led to him getting hurt, Marui would always look over in worry and be ready to help.

"Let's stay here the night." Momo suggested through pants and heavy breathing. A silent agreement was passed around the group and Marui forced himself up, starting to shut the curtains that were open to conceal them all from outside view. To his right he heard a shuffle and turned his head to see Jirou start to pull at the desk he had originally been leaning on. The redhead understood what he was trying to do and helped him to barricade the door. Shadows left the room and soon enough, it was only him and Jirou in the living room. Marui heard the faint chatter of Momo, Echizen and Shishido in the kitchen next door and the lumping as he heard Jackal, Ootori, Niou and Yagyuu make their way upstairs, checking how many rooms there were.

"Hey Marui?" The Rikkai player turned his head to face Jirou. He had never heard his name being mentioned by the blond ever without sempai or kun and it sent a chill through Marui.

"Hm?" He replied softly.

"Do you think-" The smaller boy was cut off as a crash resounded throughout the house. Marui cursed and glared, walking into the kitchen where the noise had come from to see Momo on the floor and a prolific amount of pots and pans scattered around him in a jumbled up fashion.

"If we make too much noise, it will attract them back, baka." Echizen replied looking at his sempai with a glare. Momo looked sheepish towards the smaller boy.

"It's not my fault, I was just trying to see if there was any food."

"Even if their was food, we would not be eating it all at once and especially you Momo would not be having any of it until we know how long we can last with it, you're so lame" Shishido added glaring at said individual.

"Momo sempai, wouldn't the people who had lived here take the food with them?"

Marui sighed loudly and left the room, making his way to the stairs and climbing up. Passing by he counted 5 medium sized rooms. They could have 2 people in each room comfortably and still have a decent amount of room.

"Dibs this room, cmon Yagyuu, we're having this one." Marui was brushed aside by Niou who skipped along and rounded into the room at the end of the hall. Yagyuu stopped next to Marui who was now smiling.

"How do you put up with him on daily basis?" He asked to the brown haired boy.

"It's quite easy after you get used to it." He stated simply and walked after the platinum haired boy.

"This room is an ensuite, even better." He heard Niou say and Marui had to stifle a snigger, knowing that it was an ensuite meant that it was most likely a double bed so they would have to share. Marui walked into the room next to theirs which was a twin room, knowing that he and Jackal would most likely share, although he kind of wished to share with Jirou.

The redhead sat on the bed closest to the window, watching the zombies through the slight crack in the curtains. fill the streets. _As long as we don't make any noise, they won't know we are here,_ Marui thought, hoping Echizen can stop Momo from doing anything stupid.

"Hey Marui." Marui had turned his head to see Jackal in the doorway. The bald boy smiled knowingly.

"You wanna share with Jirou right?" He asked, Jackal always knew about his crush on Jirou.

"Kinda." He replied flippantly popping another piece of bubblegum in his mouth.

"Alright, I'm having the next room over. I'm leaving the double beds for the others." Marui laughed, knowing how Momo and Echizen would be arguing like a married couple and Shishido would fret over Ootori and want him to have the most of the bed.

Jackal waved and left the doorway, opening the door and shutting it behind him.

"Hey Chotaro, let's have this room."

"Really. Echizen we're stuck with this one."

"Shinken ni, it has a double bed."

"I don't want to share with you any more than you do with me but it's the only room left."

Marui laughed and decided to find Jirou, he still had a small stash of candy left in his bag and wanted to share it with the blond as if they were going to the new candy shop that had opened. _Maybe we can stop in for a few minutes to get food. It's on the way to Atobe's._

On his way down the stairs, Marui had an urge to slide down the handlebar. However he refrained from doing so and made his way to the living room where he saw Jirou make himself comfortable on the couch.

"Hey Jirou." Marui said and seeing those familiar bright brown eyes strain onto him in the dark, Marui almost forgot what he was going to say.

"Cmon upstairs, we're sharing a room." He said with a smile and dragged the blond upstairs. Hearing a giggle behind him his smile widened.

After making their way to the room, Jirou looked in the many drawers to find something fun to do. He soon found something of interest and pulled out a pack of cards.

"Let's play Go Fish." Jirou exclaimed with his eyes closed and a wide grin spreading on his face.

"Sure." Marui replied, happy to see Jirou happy act like his normal self. Jirou sat on the floor leaning on his bed.

Marui heard a bang and opened the door to his and Jirou's room, seeing Niou there the redhead sighed. Yagyuu appeared behind the trickster with an apologetic look.

"What Niou?" Marui asked, hoping slightly that he would go away.

"I just wanted to see what you were doing. I thought baldy would be here." Niou replied looking behind Marui and seeing Jirou sitting on the floor instead of Jackal. The white haired male strolled in and made himself welcome on Marui's bed.

Marui simply sat on the floor next to the excited boy, picking up the deck and starting to shuffle them.

"Oh are you playing Go Fish? Can we play too?" Niou asked and Marui sighed yet again. He was about to respond but Jirou beat him to it.

"Yes! The more players the better." He said, lifting his arms up while Marui handed out 7 cards to each player. Niou and Yagyuu decided to sit on the floor, creating a small circle.

Marui looked at his hand and decided to go first.

"Do you have a 2?" The Rikkai tensai asked Jirou, watching his concentrated face. Jirou smiled.

"Nope." He replied. "Do you have a 7?" He asked Niou who smirked and handed out 2 sevens.

"Here" Marui said, handing the boy the 7 of hearts. Jirou laughed and Marui looked at him again. Somehow, as long as that face had a smile, he was content.

* * *

As the darkness fell upon Japan, the crisp air blew that stalked the night and anyone who felt it, the clouds shrouded the stars and left a dull grey colour in the sky. The streets were illuminated by the glow of streetlights that were equally spaced from each one. The soft hum of the zombies filled the air and left an unsettling feeling in the pit of people stomachs. Yukimura was one of those, currently leaning against a guardrail and listening to the groans and the howling wind, somehow mixing together in a viscous harmony. It was somehow calming, in an odd sense.

The blue haired captain felt a presence beside him and looked up to see Sanada looking down upon the smaller houses.

"Does it remind you of something?" He said suddenly to Yukimura who thought back to when he was in hospital. Sometimes Sanada would take him up to the roof and they would look upon the houses as if they ruled the world. It brought a smile to Yukimura's face.

"Yeah, I kinda miss doing that." He replied in a soft voice and had the urge to lay his head on Sanada's shoulder blade. If only they could turn back time, back to when it was easier, before his illness, back when they were simply training to get their third consecutive trophy. Days back then were easier, they were more free.

"Did you get through to Renji?" Yukimura asked.

"Yeah, he's with Kirihara and everyone else is together." Yukimura felt at ease knowing his team was okay, the blunette wouldn't forgive himself if one of them were hurt and he was up safe on a building; it wouldn't be right of a captain. Sanada seemed to notice his distress.

"Everyone is fine, don't worry about them for now." Yukimura though only wished he could. For the team was like his family. Yanagi being the grandfather who looked after baby Kirihara, Niou the uncle who would always play tricks on everyone with and being married to Yagyuu who would keep him in control for Yukimura could see the looks they gave each other when their backs were turned. Marui being the family member who instead of giving sweets out, kept them for himself and instead making others jealous with the copious amount of sugary junk, and Jackal would be the ever reliable, the one you could turn to in a tough situation who would always help. And Sanada, Yukimura could wish that he was the father of the group and he was the mother, but he wondered how long he could keep that pretense up. They had always acted like it but would never say it aloud.

"It's not that easy though." Yukimura replied, his eyebrows creasing and his lips turning to a frown.

"Seiichi." Yukimura turned at the sound of his first name and felt a hand grip his tightly. Sanada looked intently at him.

"Everyone is fine, I have spoken to Marui and Renji. Renji has Kirihara safe and the rest are taking shelter in an abandoned house." Sanada said, giving his hand a small, reassuring squeeze. Yukimura sighed but looked up at the brown haired boy.

"Alright, I'll try." In his mind he thought _fuck it_ and leaned on Sanada. He felt Sanada's hand leave his and immediately left his side, however was brought back by an arm wrapping around his waist.

"You're cold." He said easily to Yukimura who hated to agree with him.

"Just a little." He replied. "Did you talk to Atobe?"

"I spoke to Oshitari, Atobe will have somebody pick us up tomorrow." Yukimura sighed again, hating the cold air, hating the dark and damp storage building that Sanada had to pry open with a wrench that they would make shelter in for the night, and especially hating that Sanada was so close to him but yet so far away.

"Knowing Atobe, he still has one of his many helicopters working and somebody who can drive it."

"Oshitari did tell me that all of his butlers are still in his house." Yukimura hummed in response, he was quite sure Atobe would use his authority and leadership to keep whoever had gotten there in check.

The bluenette felt the wind pick up and smuggled into Sanada as a response. The taller boy didn't seem to object and instead held the slightly shorter boy closer. Yukimura took that as a win.

Yukimura looked down again and sighed, if he had hope that they would be safe, then they would be safe, and Sanada would protect them until Atobe got someone to pick them up.

* * *

Yanagi continued to drag Kirihara down down small alleys in the curtain of night, the younger boy not asking any questions, knowing Yanagi would most likely know what he was doing.

Suddenly Yanagi stopped and let go of Kirihara's. He took a set of keys out of his tennis jersey pocket and unlocked the brown single door. Shutting it behind him.

Yanagi grabbed Kirihara's hand again, seeing as he was in some kind of trace and led him into the living room, sat him down on the couch, and went back to the door to double lock it.

Walking back to the living room, Yanagi looked at Kirihara again and sighed. The boy was now looking around like a lost puppy, upon looking at Yanagi. The boy stood up and looked about.

"This is Inui's house, I phoned him earlier." Yanagi replied to the younger boy. His face turned to a scowl.

"Is Kaidoh going to be here?" He based and the data tennis player had to suppress a smile. It amused him how Kirihara and Kaidoh hated each other.

"Inui is making his way here right now. There is a 76.3% chance that Kaidoh will be with him." Kirihara's scowl deepened. "There is a twin room upstairs we can take." Yanagi walked to the stairs, knowing that Kirihara would follow and made his way to the spare room.

Yanagi had remembered when he used to sleep round and stay in the spare room, back when Inui's parents lived here. Now it was only the Seigaku data tennis player who lived here while his parents lived in England.

Now it was just them, and Yanagi looked to find Kirihara laying on the bed on his stomach looking scrolling on his phone. Yanagi walked over to the curtains and looked out, seeing Inui and Kaidoh, he sighed and shut them hastily. Knowing that peace would be shattered when Kirihara and Kaidoh see each other. Yanagi had to smile, that was one reason why he liked the younger boy and would miss that about him if he changed.

Yanagi made his way back downstairs, feeling the gaze of the Devil Ace tennis player turn to him and back to his phone again. When Inui and Kaidoh came into his line of sight he spoke to them.

"How is the rest of your team?" Inui answered him.

"They're all fine, what about your lot?"

"All fine too." Silence swept the room. The darkness didn't help as the only light that could be seen was from Kirihara's phone as sat at the top of the stairs. He got up; walking down and the only sound heard was the small whine of the floorboards.

As soon as Kirihara and Kidoh locked eyes, they glared at each other and looked away. Feeling a smile, Yanagi looked at Inui in slight amusement. They were in a compromising situation but if Kaidoh and Kirihara started fighting, it would take there mind off it.

"What is that bastard doing here?" Kaidoh asked with a dark look directed at the black haired boy. Kirihara gave him an equal look and leaned on the banister.

"I could say the same to you." he replied with as much hate, Yanagi could have laughed if it was on a tennis court. Inui looked like he was having the same amount of fun as he was watching this in the small light of Kirihara's phone.

Yanagi felt Kirihara's gaze shift to him and he looked at the younger boy. His face seemed to soften as he did and Yanagi had to wonder what was going through his mind to change so suddenly. Kirihara shifted his gaze back to Kaidoh and gave him a final glare before turning upstairs and shutting the door behind him. Kaidoh glared from where Kirihara had disappeared and turned on his heel towards the kitchen. Yanagi shook his head at the two younger boys and looked at Inui who still had a small smile on his face.

"Trouble in paradise?" Yanagi said to Inui, who seemed to smile a little wider and turned to where Kaidoh had exited from. Inui looked at him again, with a look that said ' _if only'._

* * *

 **Sorry if this is slightly shorter but the next will be longer and I'm sorry for taking so long but I will have more time to write now.**

 **ヴィック**


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